Tasha Jefferson
Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson is an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. She is portrayed by Danielle Brooks. Biography Before Litchfield Taystee grew up as an orphan. At adoption fairs, she would attempt to show off to couples looking to adopt in hopes of her being adopted. At one orphanage adoption fair, Taystee was discovered by Vee, who was revealed to be a drug dealer (although she calls herself a "businesswoman"). Taystee wanted nothing to do with dealing drugs ("Looks Blue, Tastes Red"). Taystee was a state ward until she was 16 and then went to juvenile prison. According to her, she's been in institutions her entire life . .]] She grew up in group homes and occasionally ran into Vee on the streets. For a while, Taystee resisted associating with Vee because of her stance on drugs. However, after getting kicked out of a group home, Taystee tearfully appealed to Vee. She wanted to be taken in by Vee to avoid going to another group home. Vee noticed Taystee's sharp math skills she acquired while working a fast food job. Vee decided to give her a chance to work as an "accountant" for her drug operation ("Looks Blue, Tastes Red"). Vee and Taystee, along with another adopted "son" RJ, were a tight knit family unit. RJ later decided to go into business on his own and break away from Vee's business. This escalated to Vee ordering the murder of RJ through her crooked police officer friend ("It Was the Change"). Taystee was crushed that RJ died. Vee lied to Taystee saying that RJ got himself killed by carrying a gun on him at night. Vee assured Taystee that she would not let this happen to any of her other "children" again ("Looks Blue, Tastes Red"). Taystee was eventually arrested, most likely for trafficking heroin for Vee's drug ring. ").]] Season One At Litchfield, she works in the library organizing and shelving books. She is well-read and likes watching the nature documentary ''Planet Earth. ''Taystee can also be aggressive, displayed when she gets in a fight with Flaca over ice cream. In order for Piper to get shea butter, she trades one strand of her hair. Taystee then has Sophia put the blonde strand in Taystee's hair, which can be season throughout season one. Taystee's release date is soon approaching. Black Cindy and Poussey both help her with a mock interview. She also gets her hair done by Sophia in order to look more professional. Taystee has her parole meeting, and she learns that she is getting out. When she is released, she stays at a house with someone she was in foster care with. Taystee quickly realizes she cannot adjust to the fast-paced real world and strict demands of her probation. She decides to violate her probation which puts her back in Litchfield. She is seen singing in the winter play with Black Cindy and Poussey ("Can't Fix Crazy"). Season Two Taystee wins the mock job fair, beating out Flaca in the final round. Natalie Figueroa informs Taystee that she did not win an actual job, but will instead have some money added to her commissary. Taystee then sees Vee walk into the chapel after years of separation ("Looks Blue, Tastes Red"). After fooling around a bit in Poussey's bed, she suddenly gets kissed by her. She tells Poussey that she is sorry and explains that "they've already been through this." Then they just cuddle a litte bit. mourn the loss of Vee ("Finger in the Dyke"). ]] Season Three Taystee and Poussey are forced to calm Suzanne down every time someone brings up Vee's death. Eventually, Taystee confronts Suzanne personally about Suzanne not accepting Vee's death. When Taystee does this, she breaks down and cries as they both mourn the loss of Vee ("Finger in the Dyke"). After inmates outside of her black family begin to approach her with random problems, Taystee quickly realizes she has become the "mom" of her group. She is displeased with this newly found responsibility. Personality Taystee is a very funny person, who mainly stays within the group of black inmates (especially with Poussey). She got to leave prison for what seemed like a few days, but she came back to prison, claiming it was too difficult to live on the outside. Despite her less than ideal upbringing and often outrageous behaviour, she is highly intelligent, and shows great ambition. In Season Two, is it revealed that when Taystee met up with Vee outside of the prison, she became involved in dealing drugs, thus landing her in prison. Relationships Friends *Poussey Washington (best friend): is confronted with the romantic feelings of Poussey. Taystee states that she would not be lesbian, but seems to be rather unsure if she returns the crush. *Black Cindy *Janae Watson *Suzanne Warren *Brook Soso Enemies * Vee (adoptive mother figure): Taystee and Vee had a very complicated relationship. Vee was one of the only people to give Taystee a true family and take her in as her own. However, after Taystee was released from Litchfield, Vee was nowhere to be found. Upon the two both returning to prison, the relationship became that much more complicated. Taystee ultimately turned away from Vee after the latter became violent and broke apart their prison family. Taystee broke down in tears after hearing of Vee's passing, revealing how much Vee truly meant to her. Novel In the novel and memoir "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison" in which the television series is loosely based on, the character of "Taystee" is based on a real life prison inmate who is named "Delicious". Delicious is described as being African-American and frequently likes to sing. The character of Taystee is one of only a handful of characters from the TV series to be loosely based on a real-life person. Memorable quotes Gallery Season 1 Promotional Pictures TaysteePromo2.png TaysteePromo3.jpg TaysteePromo1.jpg Season 2 Promotional Pictures Taystee-orange-is-the-new-black-season-2.jpg Others Category:Litchfield Inmates Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters